Shoe last with insole attachment means

ABSTRACT

A shoe last having an embedded hollow member provided with a cutting edge projecting from the last bottom for cutting a tab in an insole forceably applied to the last bottom for holding the insole registered on the last bottom. A method for temporarily securing an insole on a last bottom in which the cut tab is received in the hollow member.

United States Patent [1 1 Stapleton [1 1 3,744,074 [451 July 10,1973

1 1 SHOE LAST WITH INSOLE ATTACHMENT MEANS [75] Inventor: Peter L.

England Stapleton, Leicester,

[73] Assignee: USM Corporation, Boston, Mass.

[22] Filed: Oct. 2!, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 191,372

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 27, 1970 Great Britain50,918/70 [52] US. Cl. 12/145, 12/128 D [51] Int. Cl. A43d 21/00, A43d3/00 [58] Field of Search......' 12/128 R, 128 D,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,370,574 3/1921 Wright eta1 12/128 D 1,806,417 5/1931 P0018 12/128 D 3,302,313 2/1967 lsaacson12/128 D Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson Attorney-Richard B. Megley etal.

[57] ABSTRACT A shoe last having an embedded hollow member provided witha cutting edge projecting from the last bottom for cutting a tab in aninsole forceably applied to the last bottom for holding the insoleregistered on the last bottom. A method for temporarily securing aninsole on a last bottom in which the cut tab is received in the hollowmember. Y

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SHOE LAST WITH INSOLE ATTACHMENT MEANSBACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION As a preliminary step in asequence of operations involved in the lasting of shoes it is usuallynecessary to assemble an insole on the bottom of a last withconsiderable accuracy. It is common for the insole to be temporarilysecured to the last so as not to be displaced during subsequentoperations in the lasting of the shoe, but so as to permit the last tobe slipped from the shoe at the required stage of the manufacture. Ithas already become well known for an insole to be positioned on a lastby means of co-operation between apertures in the insole andprojections, known as pins, on the last. However, even though the insolemay be accurately located on the last bottom by these pins, there isstill the likelihood that without careful arrangement the insole willnot remain in position on the last during handling. In addition, theprovision of holes pre-forrned in the insole requires an additional stepin the preparation of the insole and great care is usually necessary toensure that the holes are correctly positioned for accurate alignment ofthe insole edge with the featherline of the last.

it is an object of the present invention to dispense with therequirement for an additional step in the preparation of insoles to betemporarily located by means of pins projecting from a last bottom.

It is further an object of the invention to facilitate the formation ofapertures in an insole, which apertures are correctly positione withrespect to the peripheral edge of the insole.

The invention provides, in accordance with one of its several features,a last suitable for use in the manufacture of shoes having insoles, saidlast being provided with at least one pin secured to the last bottompreferably in a forepart region thereof, at least a portion of the pinbeing capable of passing through an aperture in an insole temporarily tosecure the insole to the last bot-v tom, said portion including acutting edge partially surrounding a recess and capable of penetratingan insole positioned on the last bottom, to form said aperture in theinsole, said aperture being in the form of a slot defining a tab or flapin the insole.

The invention further provides, in accordance with another of itsseveral features, a method of temporarily securing an insole to a lastbottom including the steps of providing a last with at least one pinsecured in the last bottom in a forepart region thereof, said pin beingprovided with a cutting edge partially surrounding a recess, placing aninsole against the last bottom in correct alignment therewith, andapplying percussive force to the insole so that it is penetrated by thecutting edge of the last pin to form an aperture in the insole in theform of a slot defining a tab or flap.

Conveniently one or two further pins may be secured in the last bottomto assist in holding the insole in position thereon. If one further pinis used, it may be situated at the heel end portion of the last. Use oftwo further pins will allow one of these to be situated near the waistportion where an insole may be inclined to bridge the last bottom ifspecial care is not taken. These further pins are arranged to penetratethe insole when percussive force is applied thereto, but the aperturesso formed need not be in the form of slots as mentioned above but simplyformed as a result of a point or short-line contact with a pin having apointed or chisel-shaped end. This is because when the last is slippedfrom the completed shoe, these further pins are required merely to bepulled out of the apertures in the insole in a direction approximatelynormal to the plane of the heel end portion of the insole. However, theuse of such pins in the forepart of the insole would prevent the lastfrom being slipped.

A last according to the present invention is provided with a pin securedin the forepart of the last bottom, which pin has a cutting edge whichmay be generally C-shaped to cause a tab or flap to be cut in the insolewhen a percussive force is applied thereto. In a last illustrative ofthe invention and later to be described in more detail, a pin is securedin the last bottom in a forepart region thereof so that the C-shapedcutting edge thereof is aligned so that the arms of the C are pointingin a generally heelward direction. The pin iteslf comprises a hollowtubular portion having a substantially circular cross section and, ofthe 360 of the outer end of the tube, just over 180 is sharpened to arelatively keen edge, the remaining portion being cut away to a levelwhich is at or just above the surface of the last bottom when the pin issecured therein. Percussive force applied to an insole positioned on thelast bottom causes a slot to be cut in the insole, this slot defining aC-shaped tab or flap in the insole. The percussive force may be appliedby any convenient means but the striking face is best formed of a hardmaterial having some resilience, for instance, polypropylene. When theforce is applied to the insole the C-shaped tab or flap is formed andhas a tendency to bend out of the plane of the remainder of the forepartof the insole, and to be forced into the recess between the arms of thecutting edge of the pin. This action helps to hold the insole inposition on the last bottom. When the time comes to slip the last, theinsole will begin to move forward relatively to the last bottom and thetab will slide entirely into the recess folding over as it does so.Continued relative movement between the insole and the last bottom willcause the folded-over tab to be dragged out of the recess and the insoleis then free of the pin. The tab or flap will then easily be flattenedto restore a smooth surface to the insole by the insertion of a sock, oreven the foot of the wearer, into the shoe, the folding-over action ofthe tab or flap may be facilitated by leaving that portion remaining ofthe outer end of the tubular portion of the pin that is not sharpened toa relatively keen edge, at a level slightly above the surface of thelast bottom and in a blunt state so that it merely causes a slightindentation of the insole to enable the tab to hinge" along theindentation. Ideally the pin may have a D-shaped cross section where theupright of the D corresponds to the "hinge."

Where there is a possibility that, because of the material of which theinsole is made or for some other reason, the tab or flap may tear as itis pulled away from the pin, then the C-shaped slot may be formed withthe arms of the C pointing in a generally toeward direction. The tab orflap will still be pushed slightly into the recess of the pin but not toany great extent, and the depth of the recess need not be great sincethe tab or flap will not be required to fold over. Indeed, the tab orflap should not be permitted to bend too far out of the plane of theinsole or else, during a subsequent toelasting operation, the insole mayshift heelwardly if the tab or flap accidentally folds. The unbent tabor flap will press against the inside curve of the C-shaped cutting edgeof the pin and is likely to be able to withstand toe-lasting pressures.With this in mind, it will be appreciated that the non-cutting remainingedge of the pin is arranged to be flush with or below the level of thelast bottom so as to avoid the formation of a hinge.

It will also be understood that the tab or flap may be cut to beU-shaped, V-shaped or any suitable shape that will hold it in positionwhen it is forced into the recess.

There will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings,a method for use in the making of shoes provided by and illustrative ofthe invention, the illustrative method making use ofthe illustrativelast hereinbefore mentioned. It will be understood that the illustrativemethod and the illustrative last are described by way of example of theinvention only and not by way of limitation thereof.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shoes a perspective view of the illustrative last;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section on line II-II of FIG. 1 on an enlargedscale, showing details of a last pin and an insole temporarily securedto the last bottom;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the last pin of the illustrativelast; and

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section of a shoe being slipped from theillustrative last.

In FIG. 1 the illustrative last 2 is shown provided with a metal plate 4secured to the bottom surface thereof. Embedded in a heel portion of thelast bottom are two pins indicated at 6 which project from the metalplate. The main body portion of each pin is provided withcircumferential grooves 10 formed therein, and a tip portion of each pinis formed in a chisel-shaped penetrating edge 8. A pin 12 (FIG. 2) isprovided in the forepart of the last bottom and comprises a main tubularportion 14 substantially embedded in the last bottom. A C- shapedcutting edge 16 and a part-circular blunt edge 18 of the pin projectsfrom the surface of the last bottom. An external part-circumferentialgroove 19 is formed in the tubular portion 14 immediatley below thecutting edge 16, which edge is formed by machining an inclined surface30 on the outer end portion of the tubular portion 14. The tubularportion 14 encloses a recess 20. An inner end portion 22 of the tubularportion 14 is in the form of an end wall counter-sunk to receive a screw24 which secures the pin 12 into the last 2.

In carrying out the illustrative method, an insole 26, preferablypre-moulded to a shape corresponding to (or exaggerated as comparedwith) that of the bottom of the last 2, is positioned against the lastbottom accurately with respect to the featherline of the last 2.Percussive force in the form of a blow from a polypropylene coveredhammer head of an impact cylinder, for example from a power nailinserting tool, is applied to the insole in the region of each of thepins 6 and 12 in turn. As each of the last pins 6 penetrate the insole,the material of the insole is deformed around the aperture and tends tobe moulded into the grooves 10 to aid in the retention of the insoleupon the pin during the lasting operations.

When the cutting edge 16 of the pin 12 cuts through the material of theforepart of the insole a C-shaped slot is formed in the insole anddefines a tab 28 which tends, because of the slightly resilient natureof the material of the covering on the hammer head to have been pushedinto the recess 20 by its impact as seen in FIG. 2. The tab is able tohinge out of the plane of the insole because of the indentation madetherein by the-blunt edge 18, as shown in FIG. 2. Since the diameter ofthe recess 20 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the circle ofwhich the cutting edge 16 forms an arc, the material of the tab 28 isslightly compressed as it is pushed into the recess thereby affording agrip to aid retention of the insole in place during the lastingoperations. This retention is further aided during the toe lastingoperation by the insole material being deformed into the groove 19, theheelward pressures of the toe lasting operation serving to press theinsole even more firmly into this groove.

When it is required to slip the last from a shoe when completed, the pin6 will be pulled heightwise of the shoe and be easily removed from theinsole. When the last is then moved in a direction substantiallyheelward of the shoe, the tab 28 hinges about the indentation made bythe edge 18 and folds over between the insole itself and the last bottomas shown in FIG. 4, which shows the tab 28 being pulled out of therecess 20 across the inclined surface 30 of the pin 12. When the shoe isfreed of the last, insertion of a sock in the shoe ensures that the tab28 returns to a flat position level with the remainder of the insole.

I claim:

1. A shoe last having at least one embedded member provided with acutting edge projecting from the last bottom and shaped to cut a tab inan insole, forceably applied to the last bottom for holding the insolein registration with the last bottom, said member being recessed toreceive said tab.

2. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which said member is a pin havinga recess and the cutting edge is formed about a portion of theprojecting end to cut a C-shaped tab in the insole.

3. A shoe last according to claim -1 in which said member has a bluntportion projecting from the insole bottom adjacent the cutting edge toform ahinging indentation in the uncut portion of the tab.

4. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which the member is provided withan exterior groove between the cutting edge and the last bottom forreceiving a portion of the cut portion of the insole.

5. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which said cutting edge is formedon said member to define spaced legs extending heelwardly of the lastbottom.

6. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which said cutting edge is formedon said member to define spaced legs extending toewardly of the lastbottom.

7. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which said member is received inthe forepart portion of the last bottom.

8. A shoe last according to claim 6 in which the heelward portion of thelast bottom is provided with at least one sharpened pin on which theheelward end of the insole is impaled.

9. A method of temporarily securing an insole to a last bottom withoutfasteners driven through the insole .into the last including the stepsof providing a last with at least one recessed member having a shapedcutting edge projecting from the last bottom, registering an insole withthe last bottom, and forcing the insole against the last bottom wherebysaid cutting edge cuts a tab in the insole which is received in therecess to hold the insole on the last bottom.

10. A method of lasting shoes including the steps of provided a lastwith at least one recessed member having a shaped cutting edgeprojecting from the forepart of the last bottom, registering an insolewith the last is received in the recess to hold the insole on the lastbottom, lasting a shoe upper on the last and insole, and removing thelast from the lasted shoe so the tab is bottom, forcing the insoleagainst the last bottom 5 Slipped from the recess- 533 3 UNITED STATESPATENT OEFICE -CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 I 744, 074 DatedJuly 10, 1973 Invent0r(5) Peter L. Stapleton It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

In the claims Claim 9, Line 66, after the and before recess,insert--memoer Signed and sealed this 17th day of September 1974.

(SEAL) Att88t2 McCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner ofPatents Attesting Officer

1. A shoe last having at least one embedded member provided with acutting edge projecting from the last bottom and shaped to cut a tab inan insole forceably applied to the last bottom for holding the insole inregistration with the last bottom, said member being recessed to receivesaid tab.
 2. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which said member is apin having a recess and the cutting edge is formed about a portion ofthe projecting end to cut a C-shaped tab in the insole.
 3. A shoe lastaccording to claim 1 in which said member has a blunt portion projectingfrom the insole bottom adjacent the cutting edge to form a hingingindentation in the uncut portion of the tab.
 4. A shoe last according toclaim 1 in which the member is provided with an exterior groove betweenthe cutting edge and the last bottom for receiving a portion of the cutportion of the insole.
 5. A shoe last according to claim 1 in which saidcutting edge is formed on said member to define spaced legs extendingheelwardly of the last bottom.
 6. A shoe last according to claim 1 inwhich said cutting edge is formed on said member to define spaced legsextending toewardly of the last bottom.
 7. A shoe last according toclaim 1 in which said member is received in the forepart portion of thelast bottom.
 8. A shoe last according to claim 6 in which the heelwardportion of the last bottom is provided with at least one sharpened pinon which the heelward end of the insole is impaled.
 9. A method oftemporarily securing an insole to a last bottom without fasteners driventhrough the insole into the last including the steps of providing a lastwith at least one recessed member having a shaped cutting edgeprojecting from the last bottom, registering an insole with the lastbottom, and forcing the insole against the last bottom whereby saidcutting edge cuts a tab in the insole which is received in the recess tohold the insole on the last bottom.
 10. A method of lasting shoesincluding the steps of provided a last with at least one recessed memberhaving a shaped cutting edge projecting from the forepart of the lastbottom, registering an insole with the last bottom, forcing the insoleagainst the last bottom whereby said cutting edge cuts a tab in theinsole which is received in the recess to hold the insole on the lastbottom, lasting a shoe upper on the last and insole, and removing thelast from the lasted shoe so the tab is slipped from the recess.